If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.
Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (EUR215.79), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.
Andorra is big on natural beauty, and the Blackpine is fitting right into its lofty capital with an eco-friendly ethos that’s proving even the sleekest of boltholes can still be sustainable. Every corner of this Pyreneen retreat has been lovingly built with native pine: fluted to accent the restaurant’s calming atmosphere, sanded to lend sleek finishes to spacious rooms and suites, and seamlessly joined to frame awe-inspiring views through floor-to-ceiling windows. And at the root of it all: a soothing spa that’ll have you restored and ready for the slopes (and city) in no time.
Please note Don’t let our enticing gallery deceive you, these images for the Blackpine are in fact computer generated. Apologies, real-life photographs will be with us soon…
Smith Extra
Get this when you book through us:
A welcome drink, free spa access and late check-out (subject to availability)
Noon; check-in is at 3pm. Both are flexible, on request and subject to availability.
Prices
Double rooms from £193.33 (€226), including tax at 4.5 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional local city tax of €2.09 per person per night on check-out.
More details
Rates are room-only, but you can buy breakfast at the restaurant for €35 each.
Also
One of the hotel’s rooms has been adapted for wheelchair-users, and all of the shared spaces are accessible.
At the hotel
Library and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: TV, climate control, minibar, tea-making kit, Nespresso coffee machine, free bottled water, bathrobes and slippers, hairdryer and straightener, and Penhaligon’s bath products.
Our favourite rooms
Pine-clad, contemporary spaces make each of the 17 rooms and suites similar in style; but for bubble-brimmed soaks, we’d suggest the Triple Room for its curvaceous tub. If it’s extra space you’re after, the Terrace Suite has a generously sized living room and its own terrace that’s primed for people-watching.
Poolside
There’s set to be a small, indoor hydrotherapy pool at the spa that’ll sort any aches and pains; otherwise, the suites’ freestanding oval tubs are more than enough to get the endorphins flowing.
Spa
The all-mineral, healing properties of Andorra’s mountainous hot springs have inspired Blackpine’s spa – a space soon to be decked out with a Finnish sauna and wood-finished treatment rooms for meditative massages and age-defying facials.
Packing tips
An adventurous spirit to explore Andorra’s pinch-me-please beauty is all you’ll need here (and perhaps a pair of hiking boots).
Also
The hotel has on-site ski storage that you’re more than welcome to use if you’ve brought your gear along.
Children
Welcome; there’s no kids’ club or crèche to keep little Smiths entertained, but the city has plenty of places to explore and surrounding ski resorts have classes for all ages.
Sustainability efforts
Since its start, an eco-friendly approach has been instrumental to the Blackpine’s mentality, resulting in a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) qualification that recognises its extensive sustainability efforts. Exteriors and interiors are all built from the region’s pinus nigra tree, that exclusively grows at the highest point of the Pyrenees mountains; produce is sourced from local suppliers to minimise food miles; water is sourced from nearby springs, and the spa utilises Andorra’s thermal waters for restorative remedies that don’t negatively impact on the region’s natural surroundings.
Take digestifs fireside in the lounge for a cosy, alpine ambience.
Dress Code
Whatever you’re heading off to explore in is fine at this laidback spot.
Hotel restaurant
The hotel’s small, informal restaurant is yet to open, but we can’t wait to work our way through its impressive breakfast spread in the cosy Alpine dining room. And from your Andorra la Vella basecamp, dinner plans are easily secured.
Hotel bar
A small bar sits within the restaurant, where walls are lined with spirits and mixologists shake up a sweet selection of craft cocktails.
Last orders
Breakfast is served between 7.30am and 10.30am; and the restaurant’s bar pours till late.
The Blackpine is in the centre of Andorra’s southwestern capital city, more than a thousand metres above sea level in the southern peaks of the Pyrenees mountains.
Planes
International flights touch down in one of the three surrounding airports; Barcelona, Girona and Perpignan, all of which are just under a three-hour drive away. If you’re arriving from within Spain, Andorra-La Seu d’Urgell is a smaller, domestic airport that’s a closer 40-minute drive from the hotel.
Automobiles
For anyone planning on venturing beyond the city to some of Andorra’s storied ski resorts, a set of wheels will be smart. There isn’t parking at the hotel, but there are a few spots a short walk away.
Worth getting out of bed for
How you decide to explore Andorra will depend on the seasons; skiing is the sport of choice for most during the colder months (the Grandvalira ski area is within easy reach of the capital) and once the snow has melted, most take to the trails for picturesque hikes. But the Blackpine also puts you right in the country’s beating heart: Andorra la Vella. Its cobbled streets are laced with luxury shops and duty-free department stores, so avid browsers may want to wander 15 minutes across town to its shopping locus, Avinguda Meritxell. If you’re here for its history, head to the city’s old quarter, Barri Antic, where you’ll find the 16th-century Casa de la Vall; and just across the Valira d'Orient, the storied Caldea thermal spa has 18 floors for a soul-soothing dose of self care.
Local restaurants
If you’re on the hunt for fine dining, book a table at Kökosnøt, where chefs use the freshest of Andorra’s ingredients to concoct seasonally changing dishes that put a modern twist on traditional meat-focused fare. For something more laid-back, Alta Taberna Aires Gourmet is well loved for its Mediterranean menus and home-like spirit. It’s only a 10-minute drive to Smith-approved Les Pardines 1819 – and worth every second to taste proudly Andorran plates masterminded by chef Oriol Rovira, washed down with an accomplished Catalan wine selection.
Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this sleek stay in Andorra and unpacked their salopettes and designer buys, a full account of their Pyrenees break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside the Blackpine in Andorra la Vella…
Andorra may be small in scale, but its scene-stealing landscapes, well-loved ski resorts and duty-free department stores are big on allure – and the Blackpine puts you in reach of all. Being perched in the peaks of the Pyrenees mountains, between France and Spain, means pared-back lodges are found in multitudes; but the designers behind this bijou build have amped up the region’s classic Alpine style with elegant interiors and an Earth-kind edge. Honey-hued rooms and suites have been crafted from native pine trees, with freestanding oval bath tubs and city-ogling windowed walls that add a luxurious feel throughout. Downstairs, the restaurant refuels trail-weary diners with aplomb, and masseurs are on call at the spa to soothe tired muscles. And if you’d rather turn your treatments into an all-day sojourn, the thermal spa of Caldea is within wandering distance.
